Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad arrests 2 ISI suspects in Kutch; Pakistani woman lured them

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Ahmedabad: Amid heightened India-Pakistan ties, the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) on Wednesday nabbed two persons, allegedly working as spies for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the Pakistani intelligence agency, from Kutch district.

An FIR under various sections of Official Secrets Act and Indian Penal Code was registered against the accused today.

The duo have been identified as - Alana Hamir Sama (40), a resident of Kukma village of Bhuj taluka, and his associate Shakoor Sumra (38), resident of Sumrapor in Bhuj taluka of the district.

Several documents related to the movement of the Indian Army and paramilitary forces in the region have been recovered from them.

Doordarshan News reported that a Pakistani woman was used as `honey trap agent` to lure the two.

"We had been keeping a close watch on the duo since some time as we learnt that they were sending sensitive information about troop movements of Army and Border Security Force in this region to their Pakistan-based ISI handlers," news agency PTI quoted ATS Deputy Superintendent of Police BH Chavda as saying.

"We nabbed the duo last night when they came to Bhuj bus station to discuss about sharing of more information with ISI," he said today.

According to an official release by the ATS, a mobile phone made by a Pakistani company was recovered from Alana, who was in touch with ISI since last two years.

"From Alana, ATS recovered a Pakistani-made mobile phone, his I-card issued in Pakistan and an Aadhar card issued here. Preliminary questioning revealed that he visited Pakistan four times on Indian passport in the recent past," the release said.

Both of them are now being questioned in Bhuj by various state and Central agencies to dig out more information from them, it said.

The action comes amid tension between India and Pakistan after the recent surgical strikes by the Indian Army on terror launch pads across the LoC. A high alert has been sounded in Gujarat, specially in border areas due to the threat of terror attack. 

Kutch district shares border with Pakistan.

(With Agency inputs)